Festival Tips

I’ve been reading various guides over the past week, increasingly as the festival to outshine all festivals draws closer. Some have offered great advice, some have offered nothing of substance whatsoever and I suspect villagers have loaned out their idiots to the media.

Below are tips that have been gleaned from personal experience or advice that’s been passed down the line from many experienced or organised festival goers. They’re all practical, if a little gross at times, and you wouldn’t have read them in the papers. Please also check out my previous blog on Festival Fashion.♥

For when you need the toilet in the middle of the night invest in a head torch. You’ll appreciate having both hands free, trust me

When you’re drunk, merry and don’t want the night to end but find yourself heading back to the tent anyway now is the time to run down and fill your water bottles so you don’t waste hours in the rush during the mornings

Men have the luxury of peeing in a bottle, us ladies get the raw deal? Wrong! An ordinary funnel used for cookery over an empty bottle makes a homemade ShePee for those of you not wanting to expose your bum to all and sundry. Great use for the middle of the night in your tent and it can be disposed of simply after

Don’t accept medication off strangers, even a friendly nurse could be giving you LSD instead of antihistamines

For those of you with weak stomachs suck on extra strong mints as you head in to the toilets, all you’ll smell is minty freshness even if you feel like you’re sucking on chalky grit

Attempting to remain hygienic, lots of companies will give you samples if you’re friendly enough and it saves a lot of space on packing. Kiehls have been especially generous this year

Get a First Aid kit together, while it’s true you can buy pretty much all supplies at Festivals, basic paracetamol and plasters will cost four times the price you’ll buy in a local chemist. While hopefully everyone remains injury free hangovers and blisters are inevitable

For those of you wanting to get some sleep (we all try to fight it but it will need to happen at some point) invest in some decent earplugs

Line your backpack in the ultra thick bin liners you can pick up in supermarkets (the garden refuse ones are best) to help keep things waterproof. When you leave your tent chuck your sleeping bag in one of them and tie it up tightly. This was a lifesaver at Bestival one year as it was the only thing left dry in my tent after it flooded

Take moist toilet tissue with you, closer thing to a shower I get at festivals

A lot of emphasis is placed on taking spare batteries and solar chargers for your phone but don’t forget your cameras! You’ll want to look back at the memories you make

That’s all I can think of for now but I’ll update this post if and when I think of more and for all of you pondering the homemade ShePee here you go….